Buckland MA

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Buckland MA is located in Franklin County, Massachusetts with a population of about 2 thousand people.

Buckland Town Hall is shown below. (Click for larger version which opens in new window)

Buckland Information and History

Buckland MA has its own town website. Here are some quick links from the site for easy access: Town Departments with phone numbers, Boards and Committees with phone numbers, Visitors Minutes and Agendas, Town Meeting, and Staff Contacts.

From wikipedia:

Buckland was first settled in 1742 as “No Town”, as it was not currently part of either the village of Charlemont or Ashfield, which the land belonged to as one large town. A sawmill was set up that year by Othneil Taylor and Asaph White, and eventually settlement occurred. However, the townspeople did not want to cross the Deerfield River or travel the long distance to Ashfield Village to attend services, so they petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for a separate incorporation. The town was incorporated on April 14, 1779, as Buckland, presumably named for the abundant hunting in the area.

Buckland was the birthplace of Mary Lyon, founder of the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, now known as Mount Holyoke College.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.9 square miles (51.5 km²), of which 19.7 square miles (50.9 km²) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.5 km²), or 1.05%, is water.^[3] Buckland is located in western Franklin County, and is bordered by Charlemont to the north, Shelburne to the northeast, Conway to the southeast, Ashfield to the south, and Hawley to the west. Buckland’s town center is located 13 miles (21 km) west of Greenfield, 40 miles (64 km) north-northwest of Springfield, and 103 miles (166 km) west-northwest of Boston.

Buckland lies along the banks of the Deerfield River, which bends from northward to westward along the town line. Clesson Brook and Clark Brook flow northward through town towards the river, with the former forming the main valley in the town. To either side of the valley lie several hills, including Walnut Hill, Drank Hill and Snow Mountain to the west and Mary Lyon Hill and Moonshine Hill to the east, both of which are between the two brooks. Moonshine Hill is also home to a small state forest.

A short section of Massachusetts Route 2, known as the Mohawk Trail, passes through the northeast corner of town. The nearest interstate, Interstate 91, passes through nearby Greenfield.

There is a park and ride lot located on Route 2, near the bridge over the river to Shelburne Falls. South of the river, the freight rail line passes from Conway in the east towards the Hoosac Tunnel through the mountains to the west. Buckland lies along the Charlemont bus line of the Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA), but has no scheduled stops in town (the nearest being in Charlemont and Shelburne Falls). The nearest Amtrak station is in Greenfield, and the nearest small air service is at Turners Falls. The nearest national air service is at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Buckland employs the open town meeting form of government, and is governed by a board of selectmen and an administrative assistant. The town offices, police station and fire station are all located in Shelburne Falls, with the Buckland Public Library and the town’s post office located near the geographic center of town. The nearest hospital, Franklin Medical Center, is located in Greenfield, as are most of the nearest state offices.

Buckland is a member of the Mohawk Trail Regional School District, which covers six towns on the elementary level and most of western Franklin County on the upper levels of education. Buckland-Shelburne Regional Elementary School (in Shelburne) serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grades for the two towns, and students from grades 7-12 attend Mohawk Trail Regional High School. Mohawk Trail Regional’s athletics teams are nicknamed the Warriors, and their school colors are blue and gold. There are several private, religious and charter schools located in the Greenfield area, with the most prominent being Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Northfield Mount Hermon School in Gill, the Academy at Charlemont in Charlemont, Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, and Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Greenfield.

The nearest community college, Greenfield Community College, is located in Greenfield. The nearest state college is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, and the nearest state university is the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The nearest private colleges, including members of the Five Colleges and Seven Sisters, are located southeast in the Northampton area.

Buckland MA Photos

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